NORFOLK, VA — A man from Tangier, Virginia, admitted in federal court today to violations of the Lacey Act by overharvesting Chesapeake Blue Crabs in Virginia and selling them in Maryland. James Warren Eskridge, 45, acknowledged exceeding legal limits for crab harvesting and engaging in illegal interstate commerce of the overharvested crabs.
Court documents reveal that from March 20, 2023, to April 20, 2023, Eskridge surpassed Virginia’s daily blue crab harvest limits on 16 different occasions. Virginia law at the time permitted commercial crabbers to collect up to 27 bushels of blue crab per day. Eskridge, operating the Rebecca Jean II with two crew members from Tangier Island, was caught offloading significantly more than the legal limit in Crisfield, Maryland.
Law enforcement observed Eskridge and his crew offloading 60 bushels of blue crabs on April 11, 2023, followed by 56 bushels and 58 bushels on subsequent trips. Initially, Eskridge claimed to have acquired the additional crabs from another source to sell. However, he later confessed to overharvesting beyond the permitted limit. Transaction records with a seafood buyer in Crisfield confirmed Eskridge sold over 27 bushels on 16 instances, with quantities ranging from 32 to 58.75 bushels.
Eskridge pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly transporting and selling blue crab across state lines in violation of Virginia law and one count of making and submitting a false record. He is set to be sentenced on July 17, facing up to five years in prison. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.